Requiem
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Requiem...that was the name of the shield world that John and Cortana had crash landed on. A requiem to the Forerunners maybe? Or, as Cortana wondered, would it become a requiem to herself? To one nearing the end of her lifespan?


_Requiem-Special Mass for repose of souls of the dead._

Excerpt from the Oxford English Dictionary, 2547 edition

* * *

**Requiem**

"Is it just me, or is this a case of déjà vu?"

"You're an AI. I didn't think you got déjà vu."

Cortana remained silent. To John, it was presumably a sign of her conceding the point. To herself, it was a sign of the game of deception and/or denial the two were playing. And if this shield world had an AI in it somewhere, and it was aware of her own existence, it was probably another sign that it wouldn't have to worry about deleting her and retrieving a McGuffin from her carrier.

Rampancy was strange. Especially when she didn't know whether she'd actually reached it yet, and if so, what stage she was in.

Of course, being locked up in a frigate for five years was also strange. Being suddenly woken up by Covenant forces (or at least she assumed they were Covenant-looked more like scavengers in her opinion) was strange. Being pulled in through some kind of sphere and crashing on a verdant world was strange. And for someone who had a memory an organic could only dream of having, it was strange experiencing déjà vu on the world. Not just its similarities to the other artificial environments the Forerunners had created, though certainly their hospitability to carbon-based life was noticeable. It was also the entire sequence of events. Boarding the ship, crashing a ship, setting out from said ship to explore…it was practically Alpha Halo all over again.

_All we need is a Warthog and the experience will be complete._

Of course, there was a key difference between the two situations, and having become increasingly aware of her own mortality, Cortana almost wished the two were being hunted by the Covenant/scavengers, to make the illusion even more gratifying. At least on the first Halo, she and John had a goal. Locate fellow survivors, find Captain Keyes and deal with whatever goal was thrown at them next. Here, there was no goal besides simple survival, and even that was dubious. The two had decided to head for the closest set of structures they could find, but beyond that…Cortana had no idea. And since this course of action didn't involve shooting anything, the AI doubted the Spartan-II carrying her had much of a plan either.

"We're here," the supersoldier grunted, as if on cue.

"How astute. Do you want me to provide a record on how long it took?"

"No."

And who said conversation wasn't therapeutic, Cortana wondered?

Looking up at the structures they'd come to, she wondered what the Forerunners did for therapy, if that really was the right word. How, and if, floating structures factored into it, floating for no other reason than to show the galaxy that "we're advanced," as far as she could tell. Still, she felt slightly…comfortable, being in their presence. A lesser human or even an AI might have felt in awe in the presence of such majesty, but she'd essentially seen it before, even if other Forerunner architecture hadn't been of the anti-gravity variety. And what she'd also seen before, nestled at the base of one of them, was a terminal. About the only point of significance in the whole area besides the alien writing and the lack of doors.

"That terminal," John said. "Can you access it?"

"I think so."

It was fairly easy making the leap from her carrier to the terminal, though "fairly" was the operative word. It was a strange feeling, but as she began her interface, Cortana felt…bloated, somehow. Slower. As if she'd just started running as if she'd consumed a large meal. Not that she really knew what either of these really felt like, but for an organic, she supposed it would be an apt analogy. Even an organic who turned away from the terminal and started scanning the surrounding area, rifle in hand.

"Expecting trouble John?" Cortana teased.

"Concentrate on the terminal."

"Yes sir, Master Chief."

Apparently five years of cryo sleep made one cranky, though not to the extent of calling her out for her "sir" jab. But then again, despite being in his head, Cortana didn't really know _how _he thought. How any human thought beyond the biological facts.

Facts…they were starting to come in. Facts that made her feel more and more bloated, more removed…fainter, even. Part of her wanted out. To stop the download. Yet part of her also wanted more, to attain such knowledge regardless of cost. Life's drive to survive on one hand, her creator's thirst for knowledge on the other.

_And how much of this is actually due to _me?

"Found anything?" John asked.

"Getting there, getting there…" Cortana mused. "Still, it's interesting, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"All this. Kind of like the control room on Alpha Halo, remember? Hook me in, ask, what kind of weapon is it…?"

"Is this place a weapon?"

"No…" Cortana said. "It's not. It's…it's more of a shield. A shield world called Requiem."

"Requiem?"

"Requiem. As in, a-…"

"I know what a requiem is."

Cortana continued sailing through the sea of data, all the while fearing that sooner or later, one of its waves might drown her. _Requiem_, she thought. _Assuming it's a direct translation…does it mean anything? Some…dedication to the Forerunners? Some graveyard, with an entire planet to fill in for the flowers?_

She didn't know. Didn't know whether it was a requiem to an extinct species.

Or, as the data continued to pile up, whether it would become a requiem to herself.

* * *

_A/N_

_I'm kind of on the fence in regards to _Halo 4_. Not really from lack of interest, but it seems that for every good thing 343 does, they also do something else that I take issue with. Course this is all opinion, but still..._

_One of those things that could go either way is the plot-I've noticed that of what's been seen, it seems to be repeating _Combat Evolved_. Both stories start with the Covenant boarding a ship, John and Cortana crashing on a Forerunner construct, and both encountering an ancient foe in the process. Doubt that there's Flood on Requiem, but it seems that the antagonistic force will be the literary monkey wrench, so to speak. Oh well. Time will tell I guess._


End file.
